Love it or hate it, 3D was inescapable at CEDIA Expo 2010, and alongside their premium and high end projector competitors, JVC has announced three new Reference Series 3D Home Cinema Projectors. The entry-level "3D-ready" DLA-RS40U uses JVC's D-ILA imagine technology and features a single lamp rated to 1300 ANSI Lumens to achieve a native resolution of 50,000:1.

Native contrast ratio refers to the intrinsic ability of the projector to show the complete range of image contrast simultaneously in every frame. JVC avoids implementing a dynamic iris to artificially inflate contrast specifications, but rather uses a wire-grid polarizer to reduce stray light. This means deep blacks and bright whites living together in harmony.

In JVC's attempts to find the most film-like images in 2D and 3D, the DLA-RS40U uses an upgraded version of its Clear Motion Drive to reduce motion blurring, and tightly spaced pixels found in their D-ILA technology. Standing for Direct Drive Image Light Amplifier, D-ILA is a proprietary form of Liquid Crystal on Silicon featuring smooth gray scales and accurate colors. All units in this reference series feature three 0.7-inch D-ILA chips.

The projector lamp in the DLA-RS40U is 50% brighter than JVC's previous models, throwing 1300 ANSI lumens which is purportedly good for larger screens upwards of 14 feet. A 16-step aperture is provided to obtain ideal brightness and contrast levels. Further, there are three standard screen adjustment modes to match different types of screens, as well as Dark/Bright Level Gamma adjustment capabilities. Users can adjust the black, brightness, or individual red, green, and blue levels. Definitely not professional calibration level, but for a projector under $5K, this is forgivable.

The DLA-RS40U comes standard as a 2D projector, displaying all images at its native resolution of 1080p, but this entry-level model is also 3D-ready. Using the built-in Frame Sequential Method to provide full 1920 x 1080 pixels to each eye without crosstalk and flicker, owners will need to purchase optional active shutter glasses (PC-AG1, $180 each) as well as an IR emitter (PK-EM1, $80). With the extra gear purchased, sit back, relax, and enjoy both 3D Blu-ray and broadcast content.

The DLA-RS40U projector features one pair of HDMI 1.4a compliant inputs as well as a single Y/Pr/Pb component input. In addition to its standard remote control, there is an RS-232C port for commercial external controllers. Both the lens and lens cover are motorized, which translates to added dust protection and a respectable +/- 80% vertical offset and an okay +/-345 horizontal offset. Lens throw is rated between 1.4:1 and 2.8:1.

The JVC DLA-RS40U Reference Series 3D-ready Home Cinema Projector should be available starting in November for around $ 4,500 and comes with a complimentary 2 year parts & labor warranty. To use its 3D capabilities, owners will need to separately purchase active shutter glasses ($180/pair) and an IR emitter ($80).